Portrait of nazar 'ali beg, son of alqas mirza
by mu'in musavvir, isfahan, iran, dated ah 1084/1674-5 ad
gouache heightened with gold on paper, inscribed and dated on the left side of the page, ruled margin, laid down on plain leaf, later laid down again, the reverse with pencil confirmation of the inscriptions, mounted, framed and glazed
painting: 3 ¾ x 7 ¾ in. (9. 5 x 19. 7 cm. )
folio: 6 3/8 x 10 5/8 in. (16 x 26. 9 cm. )
inscriptions:
ruz-i shanbah bist-u hashtum-i shahr-i ramazan al-mubarak sanah 1084 bi-itmam rasid mubarak bad
“it was finished on saturday, twenty-eighth of the blessed month of ramadan in the year of 1084, may it be blessed. ”
identified in a contemporary persian hand on border at top:
shabih-i nazar ‘ali bayg pisar-i alqas mirza
“likeness of nazar ‘ali bayg, son of alqas mirza. ”
mu’in musavvir was one of the most prolific artists working in iran from the 1630s to the 1690s. In addition to his illustrated manuscripts such as shahnamas, he created a large number of single-page drawings and paintings of a wide variety of subjects. Our painting represents mu‘in’s unique style, which shows little of the european and indian influences so popular at the safavid court from the 1640s onward. This portrait presents the artist’s skilful painterly brushwork and his affection for shades of pinks, purples and oranges, evident here in some of the youth’s attire. The artist worked for non-royal patrons, such as our example, who were presumably more conservative in their taste than shahs safi (r. 1629–42) and ‘abbas ii (r. 1642–66), and at certain times lived outside the capital, isfahan. Although this work is not signed, the hand in which the date is recorded and the overall style of the work is typical of mu'in’s style making this a confident attribution to him. Date: between 1674 and 1575.
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